


Hold Me

by shewantstowrite



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Archie Andrews Needs a Hug, Hurt Archie Andrews, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Jughead Jones is a Good Friend, Minor Archie Andrews/Geraldine Grundy | Jennifer Gibson, One Shot, Protective Jughead Jones, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-21 06:31:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18138665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shewantstowrite/pseuds/shewantstowrite
Summary: "So there he stood, in the rain, hoping that it would wash away every bit of regret and guilt that he felt; hoping her perfume would slide down along with the raindrops, running over his skin and ending up on the concrete."OrAfter his encounter with Grundy, Archie runs to Jughead in seek of comfort.





	Hold Me

Her sharp perfume was everywhere; from Archie's shirt to his socks and even his hair. He hated himself for letting her leave such an impact in his head; her eyes, mouth, breathing, moans and hands, stained in his mind, but it was a dirty stain, one of those that you want to scrub until your skin is red and aching. Why did he entered her car in the first place? Why he was such a fool, so innocent in believing she would really just offer a ride to one of her students. Archie couldn't understand why he felt so guilty, yet so manipulated at the same time. 

The sunny day had turned stormy, literally. Grundy left him home, as she said she would, and there were light raindrops falling as he watcher her car drive away, the fog in the windows still visible; he felt sick to his stomach, thinking back of where he was, it was difficult to believe that it was over.

So there he stood, in the rain, hoping that it would wash away every bit of regret and guilt that he felt; hoping her perfume would slide down along with the raindrops, running over his skin and ending up on the concrete. Archie felt soaked, heavy. He didn't enter his home. Instead, he started to run, towards nowhere, or whatever place his legs would take him. He hoped the rain would fall harder and hurt his skin, just to distract him from the pain on his chest, this regret eating him alive and consuming every bit of his innocence, until he was raw and painful. He ran, his body automatically running towards a very familiar home. 

There was a thunder echoing in the distance as he kept running, taking the roads that would lead to his best friend's house. He didn't know what he would say, how he would explain this, or how he was going to feel after letting someone else inside this incident, he just knew that once he was with Jughead, he would know what to do. It was always this way, since they were kids. At that point, his legs were burning and his clothes felt glued to his skin, but he didn't care. Running now, like that, made him realize that he was not stuck inside a car anymore, stuck with her. 

By the time he reached the trailer park, he was exhausted, not only physically but mentally. He spotted the trailer where his best friend now lived, and hoped he would be home. He approached, only to be stopped by his own mind causing troubles.

What if Jughead judged him? 

What if Jughead think that he's disgusting? 

Archie didn't realize for how long he stood there, his shoes sinking into the dirt ground, now turned into mud thanks to the rain. He heard the metal door open, to his surprise, and reveal a very confused and stunned Jughead. His blue eyes squinted in sight of his best friend, soaked and heavy breathing. 

"Archie, what are you doing in the rain?" Jughead shouted. "Get in!"

Archie listened to him clearly, but didn't seem to be able to move. He felt stuck, all those questions on his head still running, as fast as he was just now. He stared at his friend, who seemed even more confused after he didn't make a move to get in. Jughead approached, not minding the rain, eyes glued on the red head. Jughead was now a few feet away from him, his features wet and his black curls soaked, matching his own soaked hair. He noticed Jug wasn't wearing that beanie. 

"Archie, you're scaring me. What's wrong?" He placed both hands on the red head's shoulders and that seemed to trigger his best friend. 

Archie flinched, moved away and placed his hands on his wet hair, still looking at Jughead who now looked like he had just killed him. "J-Jug-" And that was all he could say before he began to cry. Tears were washed away immediately by the rain, but he still felt dirty; he felt Grundy's hands running over his shoulders, arms and chest, exploring him in a way that didn't make Archie feel like he was a treasure to be found. 

Jughead decided not to ask question now; instead, he took his friend's frame by his arms and pulled him inside the trailer. Archie felt himself fall apart inside Jughead's arms as he wrapped a towel around him and sat him on the couch. He cried while Jughead tried to understand.

"Archie, what-"

"I'll tell you-" Archie managed to speak amid his tears, his sobs breaking his voice. "I'll tell you, just-"

Jughead nodded. It really looked like they were kids again, where something would happen to Archie and he would be just there, sitting on his couch crying and waiting for him to calm down to tell him what had happened. Archie only hoped that he was crying because his father grounded him, or because he had broken his favorite toy; the reason this time much worse, he had never imagined he would be in this situation. But there he was, and gladly, with Jughead too.

The black haired teenager placed a hand on his best friend's arm, careful this time, hoping he wouldn't flinch away, and he didn't. Archie watched how carefully Jug moved around him now, scared and confused, for him. It was so different from Grundy's touch. Her touch was rough, selfish and raw, it made Archie feel nothing but used. He cried at the thought and sobbed, making Jughead remove his hand in fear it was because of his touch.

Archie shook his head. "I-It's not you."

This time, Archie made the move and slowly reached for his friend's hand. Jughead held their hands, melted their skin and molded them together, the warmth making Archie relax into the touch and making him realize that he was safe now. This wasn't her touch, her hands or her warmth. It took all of the red head boy to not sob again at the thought. 

"Is this okay?" Jughead asked, referring to their hands together, but Archie didn't bother to answer, knowing that his silence would confirm that yes, that was just what he needed.

Archie didn't realize how tense he was until he relaxed his back muscles and let his torso curve towards Jug. He had to let it go somehow, or else he would hold onto it forever and it would kill him eventually. So he took a deep breath and for the first time, looked at Jughead in the eyes.

It took him a few tries, a few sobs that were left in his chest and whimpers in his throat, but he managed to speak, focused on the comforting warmth of their hands. "I-I was walking home, after spending the day at my dad's construction site."

Jughead moved closer and squeezed their hands together, reassuring him that he was truly there. 

"I saw Grundy driving by and- and" He stuttered, but breathed and continued. "I was so stupid, Jug. She offered me a ride."

Jughead's blood started to boil, he didn't know why that felt wrong, but the black haired boy kept the comforting facade for his broken friend.

"I got in the car and s-she got weird, at first I thought she was just being nice, but then she-" He swallowed. "She started to touch me and say suggestive stuff, I got so scared, I was paralyzed."

The squeeze of their hands were tighter by the second, and they didn't know which one of them were squeezing it, or both.

"S-she said that if I didn't do what she said I would be in trouble, I didn't know what to do so I obeyed her and-" He sobbed. "She put me in the backseat and she touched me more, J-Jug-"

He couldn't say more than that, and he really didn't have to. Jughead understood. Archie cried again, but this time Jughead didn't kept his distance. He pulled the red head into a hug and put his head on his shoulder, feeling his friend's breathing go erratic as he sobbed. Jughead's chest burned with anger and disgust towards Grundy; she took advantage of an underage boy, and worse, it was her student. She was a threat, a dangerous person to be around others like Archie. He almost forgot about Archie in his arms as he got a bit carried away by his anger. 

Archie pulled away from the hug, swallowing his sobs and looking down. "I-I'm so ashamed and I'm disgusting, Jug, I feel guilty-"

Jughead spoke, his own voice breaking with so many emotions. "No, I'm not going to let you take the blame for this kind of thing." He used a hand to turn Archie's face towards him. "This is not your fault. You're a victim."

The word seemed to move with Archie's senses.

"Archie, you know this is rape, right?"

The red head nodded slowly, taking in the realization all too suddenly. "I-I guess."

"So you don't blame yourself for it. This is her fault exclusively, no one else's."

Archie nodded again, breathing deeply and somehow relieved that those words had manifested outside his head. 

"I know this will feel like a lot, but we need to go to the police, this could happen again if she doesn't face the consequences of her actions."

And again, Archie nodded at Jughead's words. He knew that it wouldn't be easy telling this in details to the police, but he was right. 

"You're safe now, I want you to know that."

For the first time since the incident, Archie opened a little smile. "I know I am." Truly, he didn't feel that safe. She was still out there and he would have to face her again eventually, and that took away his peace and calm, but having Jughead there, it felt safe, mostly. "Can you hold me for now?"

Jughead opened his arms again, and it took all of him not to cry along with his friend. 

But he knew that they would be okay. Archie would be okay. 

After some change from wet to dry clothes, a hot cup of chocolate and a warm blanket, Archie managed to fall asleep in Jug's couch, even after the black haired boy insisted at least twenty times for him to take his bed instead. Jughead called Fred and alerted him pf Archie's whereabouts, and told him that they needed to talk afterwards, but that his son needed to rest now. Fred was worried, but trusted Jug. There was no reason not to.

Jughead put the wet clothes away and watched the sky turn dark by the hour, as he sat next to where Archie slept, and accidentally, feel asleep too.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I hope you enjoyed this work. I just wanted to leave a note to this: sexual assault, sexual harassment, rape, or anything that evolves that matter; theses things shouldn't go unpunished to the aggressors, being them a man, a woman or whatever in between. You should never be forced into doing something you don't want to or don't feel comfortable doing.   
> Never be ashamed or feel guilty if such things happened to you. It's never the victim's fault. Never.  
> Stay strong and seek help. You are not alone. 
> 
> xx


End file.
